Artist Statement

My landscapes are not about an obsequious accounting of nature. They are a conduit to my emotions, a physical manifestation of my struggle for balance between my inner and outer reality, between cultural preservation and cultural integration, between the physical and spiritual world. Being part of a community in diaspora, of an immigrant people whose current lives are a result of dispersion and spread, I am ever cognizant of the desire to belong, to root down, to be part of. I stare at those huge oak trees and I marvel at their sense of stately stability, secure in the environment where they have deeply rooted for centuries.

Usually, my day begins with a walk through the tree covered hills of Rockville Park in Green Valley. Views of mighty oak groves, rolling hills, vineyards, and rock outcrops surround me during these walks, and, inevitably, certain aspects of them find their way into my studio. Shapes of tree trunks and branches eventually appear in my work. These shapes act as space indicators that help anchor the over-all scheme of my paintings. They are not a result of the intention to imitate nature.

For me, there is no difference between painting with a brush and drawing with a pencil. I use the same method of line rendering. Employed this way, it imparts the fresh quality of drawing which I feel balances the heavy formality of oil paint. I then generate marks that are largely intuitive and gestural in nature, not unlike that of the Impressionist method. This can be attributed to a strong Impressionistic foundation instilled in me by an old mentor and Master. I may have a general concept of the artwork but I do not have any specific goal or end result in mind.

Colors act like the notes of a musical composition.The most direct path to emotion for me is through the use of color. We have an entire scale/spectrum from which to choose from and perhaps the most challenging aspect would be choosing a disciplined, cohesive palette. My mission is to wield color to be able to communicate that where words may fail; that where even my consciousness may fail.

My paintings are not a product of a chosen profession. I paint because I know of no other way upon which to apprehend the world and perhaps even my very existence.